Pelosi to settle atop the dust?

First, I want to mention that I have no special enthusiasm for Rep. Pelosi. She’s been in the news an awful lot the last, oh, 3 years, and I’ve accrued some things to say regarding the First Female Speaker of the House. Also, I recognize that I’m writing in defense of a polarizing liberal, and have mocked certain polarizing conservatives (such as her, and her), but seeing as these conservatives are not current elected officials with decades of political experience but current noisemakers, I don’t feel too bad.

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Now that the dust has settled upon the ailing houses of Congress in Washington DC, it seems safe to assume that Nancy Pelosi will retain the top position for the democrats in the House. The Congresswoman from California is certainly unpopular and there’s no mistaking the animosity she breeds in her opposition (see: the popular tweet/blog meme that consumed the internet when the Dem. majority was clearly over in the house).

But if Nancy Pelosi really is the liberal boogey(wo)man, one must also giver credit to her success as the Speaker of the House.Pelosi ran the House in a manner that most Liberals should be satisfied with. She passed the legislation that the Obama enthusiasts wanted to see, up to and including energy and climate reform, which stalled not because of Pelosi but due to the Senate’s laborious inability to make progress on Health Care, and Harry Reid’s decision to delay energy as a priority. Under Speaker Pelosi, the House got done what it needed to get done. The House majority was greater; the House is designed to move on things and Pelosi did. So why does everyone hate her? For the record, this is not a new question, but now it seems even the Democrats in the House are wondering whether to challenge Pelosi for her position in the House.

I can think of two great reasons (not including San Francisco is not the real USoA, though certain GOPers have no problem playing to the homophobes by laying the anti-gay, anti-San Fran cards):
1) Nancy Pelosi is a leader of the opposition, and she’s been good at it. As countless talking heads remind us everyday (true or not), the US is a “center-right” country. Thus a strong progressive Speaker of the House will naturally be an easy target. No surprise.
2) “Nancy Pelosi” the monster is a creation of political advertising. Every party needs a boogeyman, and Pelosi is an easy one to latch on to. For Heaven’s sakes, she managed to pass a Climate Change Bill, of course the GOP is going to target her. Even this is no surprise. But it’s important to remember, as the new session in D.C. gets underway, and Nancy Pelosi becomes, as the right so gleefully reminds the world, “the first former female Speaker of the House,” that Nancy Pelosi isn’t a monster. Though you’ve every reason not to like her, she’s an effective progressive democrat who will, I predict, outlast the new young guns storming into office.